How To Help Planned Parenthood After The Colorado Springs Shooting

On Nov. 27, as shoppers nationwide hit the stores for Black Friday or went about emerging from their Thanksgiving food comas, a gunman fired into the windows of a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic, wounding three police officers and possibly others. (Update: After an hours-long stand-off, the shooting suspect has been detailed by police. Said Mayor John Suthers Friday, "The perpetrator is in custody. The situation has been resolved." Police later confirmed that three people had been killed and identified the suspected gunman as Robert Lewis Dear, 59, who is from North Carolina.) It's unclear at this point whether PP was the gunman's target, but regardless, the incident reminded employees and supporters of the women's healthcare provider of the many, many times abortion providers have been made the victims of violence. And it left many people wondering how to help Planned Parenthood in its hour of need.

For all of the vitriol against the organization uttered by social conservatives, the organization is beloved, as many tweets responding to the shooting showed. Planned Parenthood provides a multitude of women's health services, consisting mostly of providing contraception, STI testing, and screening for cervical and other cancers, but in some locations it also offers treatment of more general conditions, from gastrointestinal issues to hypertension, often in communities with no other point of access to this care. Abortions account for only 3 percent of services the organization provides to patients.

Donate Money

This is the simplest and most straightforward option, and even a modest amount helps. As Dani McClain wrote in The Nation earlier this fall, "it’s easy to feel like your $5 or $10 donation is too small. Wrong. There’s still a great need." Also, it might be a better use of funds than some of the stuff on your Black Friday shopping list.